Muslim prayer room signs vandalised in King’s College

Muslim prayer room signs have been vandalised at King’s College London Guy’s campus

Elham Asaad Buaras

Muslim prayer room signs have been vandalised at King’s College London Guy’s campus, with one sign having “Muslim” scratched out and other with a “#jewish” sticker over the same word.

Students, who spotted the signs on March 27, expressed fear of “threats and violence” that may be used against them from the blade used to deface the board. The College has been called on to look through CCTV to find those responsible, in what has been described as a “clear violation of safe space policy”.

President of the university Students’ Union, Sebastiaan Debrouwere, said the union is, “Working with the College to investigate and find those responsible. I will push hard for the culprits to be dealt with seriously if they are found. It should be unequivocally clear that this is an absolute priority and we will insist it is dealt with seriously by the College… We are one at King’s. We won’t allow this malicious act of vandalism to fracture our community. ”

The incidents come after a controversial BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel) motion was passed at Student General Meeting. However, there is currently no proof as to whether the two events are connected.

Third year History undergrad Aysha Al-Fekaiki said: “Students have a right to bring forward motions to council that they feel represent their views, and not bear any consequences of religious hatred or Islamophobia for doing so.

“This asks us to question how we can fight Islamophobia in order to create a safe and non-threatening space for Muslim students on our campuses.”

In a statement to The Muslim News a King’s College London spokesperson said: “We want all students to feel safe and free from intimidation on our campuses and take these issues very seriously. Acts of vandalism, such as these, aimed at particular sections of our community breach both College regulations and the Student Union’s ‘safe space’ policy and the perpetrators will be subject to disciplinary action.”

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